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GLORIA PENNER (Host): California Prisons are bursting at the seams
and under court orders to reduce its inmate population.
KPBS is examining Life in Prison with a special investigation.
Reporter Joanne Faryon reports on her findings.
JOANNE FARYON (KPBS News): Over the next several weeks we want to introduce you to one
of the fastest growing segments of the prison population - the elderly, inmates over age 55.
In the past ten years, they've more than doubled in number,
and according to the California State Legislative Analyst office,
they will again double by the year 2022.
In fact, in the past decade the number of inmates in all age groups under 40 has declined,
both as a percentage and total number.
But age 40 and up, they're on the rise.
After age 50, the numbers are doubling and tripling.
Older inmates are expensive; two to three times more expensive to keep in prison
than younger inmates because they have age-related health problems.
You've probably heard by now California has an over-crowding problem when it comes to prisons.
So over-crowded a federal court ordered the state to reduce its inmate population
by about 25 per cent or 40,000 inmates.
Some studies have suggested releasing non-violent older inmates,
statistically they're less likely to re-offend
and the state can save more money by reducing this population.
Throughout our reporting, you will meet some of these inmates, you'll hear from experts
and we'll give you a lot of statistics to think about.
In the end, you'll see California has a huge conundrum on its hands.
If it continues under current sentencing laws to send more people to prison longer,
can it afford to house those prisoners and provide them
with health care, and eventually, hospice care?
Currently, the state spends about ten billion dollars a year on the department
of corrections and rehabilitation.
That's about ten percent of its general fund.
And as more prisoners age, you can bet that number will grow.
We will introduce you to some senior prisoners next week on KPBS.org/prisons.
PENNER: As part of this special series, we'd like to know what you think.
What is your opinion about releasing non-violent elderly inmates from California prisons?
You can leave your comments at KPBS.org/prisons.